Normally, when people embark on some kind of reading plan, they (innocently) skip those long genealogies that occur sometimes throughout Scripture. Just admit it. I’ve done it, you’ve probably done it, everyone has probably done it.
If we take the time to wade through these numbers then, we can come across some really interesting kernels that develop before our eyes. We gain insights into what Scripture thinks about some of these people, as well as put the pieces of an individual family together in a way that makes sense.
Or, in the case of Genesis 46, we may run across a controversy that runs so deep for some people that it threatens the very foundations of their faith.
On more than one occasion, I have been asked the question of “how many people went to Egypt” – not because they wanted to actually know, but because they wanted to watch me squirm.
Let me explain. In Genesis 46:26, the Bible clearly answers this question: 60 people in all went down to Egypt.
But then, in the very next verse, it says that the number is actually 70.
Then, way forward in Acts 7:14, Stephen says that it’s actually 75.
So which one is it? I don’t have the space to explain all the different argument surrounding this controversy; for a more detailed rundown of the various numbers, here’s an excellent article that deals with it.
What I can tell you is how Genesis 46:26-27 arrive at their two different numbers. I know it’s early, but hold on to your hats, because we’re about to do some math.
Genesis 46:26 claims 66 people, but Genesis 46:27 explains that that number leaves out four people: Jacob, Joseph, and Joseph’s two children. Why? Because Jacob doesn’t “belong” to himself, and Joseph’s family is already in Egypt. They didn’t “come down to Egypt” with the rest of Jacob’s family.
As if to go out of It’s way in explaining this counting system, Genesis 46:27 says that if you add those four people in, the number is actually 70. The last thing the Text wants is there to be any confusion in this number (contrary to the modern-day skeptical debates).
If you actually read Genesis 46 though, you’ll notice that a few people are absent. None of Jacob’s daughters-in-law are counted, but his daughter, Dinah, is included. Two people we know died in Canaan — Er and Onan — are also excluded, for obvious reasons.
Why is this genealogy included? If you consider how Genesis 46 opens up – with a commandment from God to Jacob to ”not be scared to go to Egypt” – then this genealogy shows that Jacob was anything but. He not only went down himself, but brought every single last person in his family with him.
For him, and for his family, Egypt was their future. For nearly 400 years, there would be no return trip to Canaan.
